TSA News May 2017 Volume 35 Issue 5

Jill Hoskins of Brentwood Springs will be the guest speaker at the Thursday, May 18 Rainbow Catholic Interfaith Coali-tion / Tri-State Alliance meeting, being held at 6:30pm at St. Lucas United Church of Christ, 33 West Virginia Street in Evansville. She will discuss suicide prevention awareness. Father Steve Lintzenich will be the guest speaker at the Thursday, June 15 meeting of the organization.

Royalty at the 16th Annual TSA Pride Prom were In Between Victoria Brownfield of AIS, Prom Queen JJ Frymire of AIS and Jordan Frymire, who are pictured with 18 year old TSA Youth Group member Skylar Fox Julian. Over 1,000 students attended. Next year’s prom has been scheduled for Saturday, April 14, 2018.

Suicide Prevention Awareness to Be Discussed at May 18 RCIC / TSA Meeting

2pm Sundays

OpenDoorUUF.org

Hawes Sound Solutions 1041 3rd Ave, Jasper, Indiana

812-631-6241

USI fraternity holds car wash to benefit Tri-State AIDS Holiday Project

Posted by Eunice De La Torre, Digital Content Producer 14new.com

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - A USI fraternity is working with the Tri-State alliance to help out members of the LGBTQ community. Members of the Sigma Pi Fraternity held a car wash at the Burger King on Evansville's west side.

They told us this is the first time they've ever raised money for a cause similar to this. A freshman came up with the idea. All proceeds go toward the Tri-State AIDS Holi-day Project.

The Tri-State AIDS Holiday project helps families affected by HIV and AIDS.

TSA Thanks Ri Ra Irish Pub of Evansville for hosting the birthday party of Kelley Coures, an annual benefit for the TSA Pride Prom. Pic-tured is Ryan Costello, the new Ri Ra General Manager. He is from Boston with family roots from Ireland. Please visit Ri Ra Irish Pub in the Casino District of Evansville, 701 NW River-side Drive.

For Sale: Split, seasoned

FIREWOOD Free delivery within Evansville. Proceeds donated to

TSA Holiday Project. $95/pick-up load. Cash only please. Contact Bruce Wright

(812) 422-9155 OR anbrwright@twc.com

Vincennes / VU Have a Great AIDS Walk!

Vincennes / VU Have a Great AIDS Walk!

March 24, 2017 Dear EVSC School Board members, The Tri-State Alliance has long been concerned about the inclusion and affirmation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students by EVSC. This became even more of our focus after the suicide of an LGBT teenager in front of Central High School in January 2017. EVSC Superintendent David Smith responded to this crisis at a press conference on the Friday after the suicide. During the press conference he did not mention the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender once. The school corporation had oth-er agencies present to talk about suicide and violence, but no LGBT agency was represented. In response to this we began a letter writing campaign to school board members asking them to instruct the superintendent to address LGBT bullying issues. In the ‘response’ to the letter writers, the superintendent and school board president did not use the words Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. In our opinion, the needs of LGBT students were again not acknowledged by EVSC administration. TSA RECOMMENDATION ONE: The Tri-State Alliance respectfully recommends that the EVSC School Board instruct EVSC leadership to meet with the leadership of the Tri-State Alliance when a major incident or concern occurs involving an LGBT student, as other agencies are included in a collaborative manner. In reviewing the EVSC web site before today’s meeting, we have also noted the cor-poration’s non-discrimination policy in terms of employment. The policy is: Non-Discrimination Policy: It is the policy of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corpora-tion not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, veteran status, national origin, age, limited English proficiency, or disability in its programs or em-ployment policies as required by the Indiana Civil Rights Law (I.C. 22-9-1), Title IV and Title VI (Civil Rights Act of 1964), the Equal Pay Act of 1973, Title IX (Educational Amendments), and Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973). TSA RECOMMENDATION TWO: The Tri-State Alliance respectfully recommends that the EVSC School Board amend the above policy to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the EVSC employment non-discrimination policy.

We have also attempted to meet with Dr. Smith, Dr. Gray and Marcia Stacer in the past. It often has taken the intervention of an EVSC school board member to get any of them to agree to meet with us. This usually takes 6-8 months to get a meet-ing even scheduled (CORRECTION it took 10 months). All such meetings were to discuss the inclusion and affirmation of LGBT students in EVSC schools. TSA RECOMMENDATION THREE: The Tri-State Alliance recommends that the EVSC School Board instruct the superintendent to establish an open door policy to meeting with those concerned about the inclusion and affirmation of LGBT stu-dents. The best way to address the inclusion and affirmation of LGBT students is through professional development training. And based on the statistics I have presented in the attachment, training on working with LGBT students can be considered suicide prevention training. TSA RECOMMENDATION FOUR: The Tri-State Alliance recommends that the EVSC School Board instruct the superintendent to initiate the following training schedule on working with LGBT students, and that the training include a brief presentation from the Tri-State Alliance about services available to LGBT students and the needs of local LGBT students. The scheduled is as follows:

All EVSC School Principals and upper-level EVSC administration: Professional Development Training to be held within 3 months of today.

All EVSC school teachers: Professional Development Training to be held within 12 months of today.

All EVSC staff: Professional Development Training to be held within 24 months of today.

We hope and encourage EVSC to take a more proactive stance about meeting the needs of ALL students INCLUDING its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender stu-dents. It is my hope that the EVSC School Board will institute these changes to help prevent future tragedies. Sincerely, Wally Paynter, President Tri-State Alliance, Inc. PO Box 2901, Evansville, IN 47728

TSA’s March 24, 2017 Letter to the EVSC School Board

YOUTH RESOURCES: Group shares ways to create safe learning environment for LGBTQ students

By Jessica Mitchell, special to Courierpress.com

It is important for school counselors and educators to have access to tools and support that will help them create a positive, safe learning environment for all students. At a recent youth conference, I was able to listen to a panel of teens from Prism Youth Community in Bloomington, Indiana speak to youth professionals about creating a supportive and safe environment for all students. Prism is an inclusive space for youth ages 12-20 supporting students of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. The group holds weekly meetings, special events and field trips and educates people about LGBTQ issues through service and outreach with underserved communities. Something that really stuck with me was the simplicity of a statement one of the youth speakers made during the question and answer session at the end: Remember that the comfort of non-LGBTQ students, parents, and teachers should not reprioritized over the safety of LGBTQ students. The group provided information on how teachers, counselors and youth workers could help create a safe learning environment for LGBTQ youth. Embrace teachable moments. Make the most of teachable moments to reinforce guidelines and build social skills such as listening, conflict resolution, friendship and diversity. Interrupt hurtful teasing and name-calling when it occurs. When students use words like gay or queer as putdowns, they are using these words to hurt, exclude, intimidate or bully. To create a safe atmosphere, ensure this kind of talk is stopped and educate students. Do not ignore the be-havior, excuse the behavior, or base your response on how upset you think the bullied student is. Support the bullied student by maintaining their privacy, listening, determining their needs, providing space, and offering ongoing support. Help students build support systems. Identify teachers, counselors and administrators that will be supportive of LGBTQ students. Communicate these sup-port staff to students, so they can feel safer in the school environment. One student mentioned than one of the most helpful things a school can do is create a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) or similar student club within the school. Assess for safety outside the classroom. Be aware of whether students feel safe beyond the classroom, such as in the lunchroom, on the playground, in gym class, in the restrooms and on the school bus. Engage adults in charge of those areas in discussions about safety of all students. Likewise, advocate for parental support. It can be difficult to support a student in the classroom when they are not supported in the home environment. Consider advocating for a parent support group or workshop, where parents of LGBTQ children can share their feelings and experiences, and learn best parenting practices. Advocate for staff development. Ask your administration to organize staff development opportunities to explore issues of LGBTQ competency, family diver-sity, and bullying. Being uncomfortable is not the same as being unsafe, and school officials have a responsibility to ensure the safety of all students. If we know that academic achievement correlates with a student’s safety and comfort with oneself, it’s important that we work to create a safe learning envi-ronment for all youth.

Jessica Mitchell is the Marketing & Design Coordinator at Youth Resources of Southwestern Indiana. Since 1987, Youth Resources has engaged over

145,000 youth in leadership development and community service through its youth-led TEENPOWER, Teen Advisory Council, Teen Court and Make A Differ-

ence Grant Programs. For more information, please call 812-421-0030 or visit youth-resources.org.

16th Annual LGBT Pride Prom By Bri Williams 44news.wevv.com

The 16TH annual LGBT Pride Prom is underway in Evansville. Hundred of people participate in the event each year. Last Spring, more than a thousand student attended the dance. The night fea-tures a drag show and the crowing of a king, queen and an in between. Organiz-ers say the event is a way to get members of the LGBT community involved, in a safe environment. Wally Paynter says, “We coordinated the regions LGBT youth group and our youth group and our youth asked we want a place that we can dance and dress how we want and to be ourselves and we said we will make that happen for you.” The prom wraps up around midnight. It is sponsored by the Tri-State Alli-ance, a social service organization for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender communities. Security is on hand. It is $10 dollars to attend and can be paid at the door.

Pride Prom, open for all, set for Saturday

April 6, 2017 CourierPress.com The 16th annual LGBT Pride Prom is Saturday and is open to all. The event, hosted by the Tri-State Alliance, is from 7 p.m. to mid-night at the Evansville Airport Holiday Inn. TSA is the Tri-State's social service organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Cost to attend is $10 a person, payable at the door. The dance is an alcohol and drug-free event, with security. Last year more than 1,000 students attended. Although proms are traditionally a high school-age event, this event is open to all. Doors open at 7 p.m., snacks are served at 8 p.m. and a drag show will begin at 9 p.m. A prom king, queen and in-between will be crowned following the drag show. This is JJ Frymire's first Pride Prom. He recently moved to the Evansville area and has gotten his fiancé Jordan involved in TSA's youth group and other activities and looks forward to the memories they'll make together that night. "This is all about showing every-body you can be you, who you want to be, what you want to be and that's OK," Frymire said. "You can dance and have a good time and not have to worry about anyone behind your shoulders looking at you in a negative way or hating on anybody. That's what Pride Prom is all about." The event will be full of laughter, family and friends and hopefully a lot of memories, Fymire said. "It's all about having a good time and being who you truly are and being comfortable with that," he said. For more information about this event visit the Tri-State Alliance Facebook page.

Parents Needed to Speak at School Board Meetings

The Tri-State Alliance is creating a task force in Vanderburgh, Posey, Warrick Gibson and Hender-son Counties of parents, families and friends of LGBT students. After we target these counties we hope to add additional counties in our region. The purpose of this task force is to publicize the services of the TSA Youth Group to area social service agen-cies and counselors, AND to speak on a regular ba-sis at the school board meetings in each of these counties about the unmet needs of LGBT students. We hope to have a different speaker during public comment at every school board meeting in these communities. If you want to volunteer to help us make a difference, please contact TSA President Wally Paynter at wallypaynter@aol.com or 812-480-0204.

TSA Volunteer Meetings Scheduled

Evansville, Saturday, May 20 6pm, TSA Offices

501 John Street Suite 5, Evansville

Owensboro, Sunday, May 21 4pm, Panera Bread

4600 Frederica Street

Volunteers are needed to help with the Evansville and Owensboro Pride Events, and several projects

that TSA is currently working on.

Questions? Contact TSA President Wally Paynter at wallypaynter@aol.com or 812-480-0204.

Local massage therapist to travel for AIDS awareness, raising funds By Gabi Wy, gabrielle.wy@courierpress.com

Shannon Ulewicz has always loved helping others, and this summer, she’ll be able to do just that for the AIDS LifeCycle this summer in California. The AIDS LifeCycle is a 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, running from June 4-10. Ulewicz will not be biking, however. She’ll travel with the cyclists and donate her skills as a massage therapist. “I’ve been studying up on what the riders are going through,” she said. “They’re biking eight hours a day, 80 miles a day. I want to help with those particular muscles they use and the move-ments that give them pain and soreness.” As a massage therapist, Ulewicz is not required to raise money for the AIDS awareness cause, but she feels passionate about it and has

been doing so anyway. “I had a college friend who was about to obtain his Ph.D,” she said. “He found out he was HIV positive and committed suicide in 1992.” Ulewicz said because there are highly effective treatments now, she wants to spread awareness that HIV is not a hopeless disease. “I came across a statistic that 20 percent of new HIV cases are ages 13-24,” she said. “It kind of hits home because I have a kid that’s 12. I have even more reasons to be on fire for this and want to be involved.” Ulewicz has been fundraising for the trip through the Internet with a goal of $10,000. “It’s about raising awareness and ending the stigma,” she said. “It’s what I can do to help.” This will be the first year Ulewicz is participating in the cycling event, and she is looking forward to providing aid to others. “When I did my massage program at Ivy Tech, they explained what all we can do with a massage cer-tification,” Ulewicz said. “It’s personal, and you can help someone who hurts.” She said she’s loved giving massages, even from a young age. “My dad had a back injury and was type-1 diabetic,” Ulewicz said. “My sis-ter and I would constantly sit on his back or walk on his back or rub out the muscles to help him.” Through the cycling event, Ulewicz gets to blend her love for massage therapy and her passion for AIDS awareness into one. “You can spend half an hour to an hour with someone as a massage thera-pist, and you can change their life,” she said. “”Through this program, we can help facilitate change and we can change the future.” Ulewicz's page is accepting donations until May 15. It can be viewed at tofighthiv.org/site/TR?px=3261233&fr_id=1990&pg=personal.

Dillard's Evansville Cosmetic Hosted a

70s Iconic Glam Event and invited local

queens to perform 70s Iconic Hits to

entice the crowd! Pictured from L to R

Coco DeVille, Kendra James, Billy

Thorn, Vivika Darko, and Jasmine

Michaels posed for a quick photo at the

selfie station after their Iconic Perfor-

mances. Photo Provided.

Over 1,000 Students Attend 16th Annual TSA Pride Prom!

Over 1,000 Students Attend 16th Annual TSA Pride Prom!

Over 1,000 Students Attend 16th Annual TSA Pride Prom!

Over 1,000 Students Attend 16th Annual TSA Pride Prom!

Sunday May 21, 2017 at 6pm at Owensboro Zion United Church of Christ 625 Allen Street, A reception will immediately follow the service. Please bring Canned Goods for Matthew 25’s

Food Pantry. A collection will be taken for the Tri-State Alliance AIDS Holiday Project for the purchase of grocery store gift cards for low-income families impacted by HIV / AIDS. Facebook.com/AIDSHolidayProject

Help Wally Celebrate His 50th Birthday!

Sunday, May 21 Saturday, May 27 8-10pm 7-9pm Drop Dead Darlings 2nd Performance TSA Youth Group

Lucky Lady Lounge Tri-State Alliance Offices 523 N. Main Street 501 John Street Suite 5 Evansville, IN Evansville, IN 47713 Those age 21 and up can attend All ages are welcome Cost is $15 to attend this No cost to attend Charity benefit

No gifts but cards are welcome, and donations to the TSA Youth Group Cards can be sent to Wally Paynter c/o TSA, 501 John Street Suite 5, Evansville, IN 47713

Sunday April 30, 2017 at 6pm at Church of the Good Shepherd 515 S. Orchard Drive, Carbondale, IL. A reception will immediately follow the service. Please bring personal care items (laundry detergent, paper towels, razors, soap, shampoo, tampons, toilet paper, toothpaste) for

Southern IL HIV Care Connect. A collection will be taken for the Southern IL AIDS Holiday Project.

Sunday, April 30, 2017